Some counselors join Tay and family for a visit during the Christmas holidays.
Counselor Meeting
December 31st, 2008Christmas gifts
December 21st, 2008When I was little, I memorized poems to recite for my grandmother for her Christmas present each year. It wasn’t always a poem - I think I did the Gettysburg Address one year. The most memorable poem (and the one she liked the best) was Robert Frost’s Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.
Today is the Winter Solstice which means tonight is the longest night of the year. I only found out today that Robert Frost was referring to the Winter Solstice in the poem with the line “the darkest night of the year.”
I just took Red and Blue out for a walk before bed and the night sky is amazing. The stars are brilliant and sparkling and I am sure that Frost was inspired by a night like this to write his famous poem.
I’ve had a lot of Christmas celebrations, and when I look back over the years, I think the best gifts I’ve ever given were reciting those poems for my grandmother. That gave us a connection. Sometimes it is the simple things - baking, decorating, sitting around the dinner table, reciting poems, - that end up meaning the most to us later.
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.” (Robert Frost, 1922)
I hope you have a wonderful holiday with those you love and that many years from now you’ll have fond memories of this special season.
Meet you at the Orange Mailbox… Sarah Dabney
Let it Snow!
December 11th, 2008
December already?
December 1st, 2008“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” — Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss.
That says it all! We’ll turn around twice and look for you all coming through that Orange gate. In the meantime, have some fun!
Meet you at the Orange Mailbox… Sarah Dabney
Strong River - Into the 21st century!
November 23rd, 2008First, I would like to welcome Strong River campers, staff, family, and friends to the Orange Mailbox. As some of you may have noticed, www.strongriver.com has received a major face lift. Sarah Dabney has been working hard writing this blog and uploading pictures to the new photo gallery. Be sure to check back often to get the latest updates on everything Strong River.
This site is still a work in progress, and I would love to get your feedback on ways we could make it better. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions to help us make strongriver.com more informative, engaging, entertaining, easier to navigate, or anything else that you can think of, I would really appreciate your input. Also, if you find anything that doesn’t work the way it should, let me know and I’ll try to fix it. You can email me at hudson@strongriver.com or just leave your ideas in the comments area of this post.
Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
-Hudson
The Squash Club
November 22nd, 2008Just before lunch everyday (it may be broadcast at a different time where you live) there is a 5 minute program on National Public Radio called The Writer’s Almanac. I like to listen to it when I can - and download it as a podcast when I miss it. Garrison Keillor talks about authors and poets and ends by reading a poem.
When I was younger I discovered a very clever poetry book called Opposites by Richard Wilbur. It had some funny illustrations which I liked as much as the poems. Years later Richard Wilbur became a United States Poet Laureate. Here is his poem about squash.
The opposite of squash? Offhand,
I’d say that it might be expand,
Enlarge, uncrumple, or inflate.
However, on a dinner plate
With yellow vegetables and green,
The opposite of squash is bean.
I hope you will enjoy these beautiful, cold days by curling up with a good book or perhaps writing a little poetry of your own…
Meet you at the Orange Mailbox… Sarah Dabney
Smile, Smile. Let me see you smile…
November 20th, 2008Q. What did the zero say to the eight?
A. Nice Belt
Q. What is Obama’s favorite vegetable?
A. Barackoli
I’m looking for some new jokes. If you’ve got a good one to share with me send it along. Make sure it fits with Strong River humor. Remember our quote from Søren Kierkegaard - “Tell me what a man laughs at and I will tell you what he believes about God”.
Meet you at the Orange Mailbox… Sarah Dabney
November 19, 2008
November 19th, 2008“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. ”
Henry David Thoreau
Paths are on my mind. The woods along the Strong River are gorgeous right now and perfect for late afternoon strolls. And yet, I am not taking the time to enjoy them fully. The winter ryegrass is coming up bright green and the horses have trodden a path through it, across the pasture, to and from the stable.
We have all fallen into our routines and there is some comfort there - in what is familiar. At Strong River right now that mainly means taking care of animals and tending the winter vegies and collecting firewood and answering the phonecalls requesting information about next summer.
Tay has always talked to us about finding Happiness in the Path and not just the destination and she is right. There are bright spots in every day as we look forward to our next summer together. Two weeks ago we had an e-mail from Martin, who is the son of Birgit - one of our favorite counselors from Denmark. We are making plans for him to be with us at camp this summer. He will be continuing a path started a long time ago.
This blog is a very new path. A path that I hope all of you will help me with. Hudson has convinced me that we can learn new things and that even someone of my generation can do this. So I will give it a try. Just like I want you to try sterning a canoe, or flying down the zipline, or riding a horse, or making a new friend.
Some of you reading this may have been at camp last summer but some of you may have been there a long time ago. I hope Strong River has helped each of you in your path. I hope the Strong River Way teaches all of us to “think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. ”
Meet you at the Orange Mailbox… Sarah Dabney
